September 05, 2015
The Eagles have made their final cuts, plus an extra one, and their roster currently stands at 52 players. Let's take a look at each positional group, with analysis:
After trying to trade Matt Barkley for over a year, the Eagles were finally able to get something for him. Well, maybe. If he's on the Cardinals' roster for six games, the Eagles will get the Cards' seventh-round pick in 2016. So there's that. And then, of course, they cut Tim Tebow, to the fans' glee or extreme dismay, depending on your feelings of Mr. Tebow. In 2014, 15 NFL teams kept just two quarterbacks. The Eagles could go that route, but it's more likely that they sign a veteran to be their third QB.
As expected, the Eagles went with four backs. Barner earned his spot during the preseason games, when he took a pair of punt returns to the house. This is the best group of running backs in the NFL.
These were the six wide receivers we projected to make the team going way back to May. Five of the six (all but Ajirotutu) figure to have a role in the regular offense, with Ajirotutu serving as a special teams ace.
Even with Ertz's groin injury, there was no need to keep any of the three undrafted free-agent tight ends the Eagles brought in to compete for a job. This is a talented trio of tight ends, with Ertz being the up-and-coming dominant pass catcher, Celek the good blocker, and Burton the versatile Swiss army knife.
The only surprise here is Andrews, although maybe he shouldn't be. The Eagles kept Andrews around for the entirety of the season on their practice squad a year ago. The Eagles have the best LT-C-RT trio in the league, but the starting guard spots and OL depth have to be considered significant concerns.
No surprises here. The starting three of Cox, Logan, and Thornton are among the best 3-4 defensive line groups in the NFL, with Curry adding a great pass-rushing presence in sub-packages.
Marcus Smith survived, as expected, but he remains on the shelf with an injury. The Eagles don't have much depth here at all. If they needed to, they could borrow Vinny Curry from the DL group to play OLB in a pinch, or use Brad Jones as an OLB, but this is a spot where the Eagles could be scouring other teams' cuts to see who shakes free.
While the Eagles have very shaky depth at OLB, their depth at ILB is outstanding. Unfortunately, the Eagles could not get anything in return for Najee Goode in a trade, who is sure to latch on elsewhere.
Keeping Rice over Jaylen Watkins was a mild surprise, but either guy would have likely been inactive on game day anyway. The starters will be Maxwell and Carroll, with the slot corner spot to be determined depending on the opponents' personnel.
The question here was whether or not Couplin or Ed Reynolds could steal a spot away from special teams guy Chris Prosinski, and Couplin was able to do that. Couplin could enter the season as the "#3 safety."
RIP Kip. :(
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